Insanity's Requiem v2
by Silverarte
Summary: Attempts to force the demonic gates open are being made and the Ronins are in a pinch. A new twist about their armours could mean the difference between life, death, or losing their souls.
1. Prologue

_Well, it begins. I'm trying to rewrite this story over to a better version of it, since the former version (which I'm keeping up for references I suppose) really does have some loopholes. I truly appreciate the person who pointed it out, since I didn't notice it at all until she said something. So I have to say thank you to her...or him…But either way, thank you. Anyone else who has constructive advice for me is very welcome to offer it to me, and all is appreciated. As long as it's constructive. Well, aside from that I'm in a lull at school right now, so I've just passed my finals by. (YAY!) Soon the next semester will be upon me, but until then I hope to get this out as fast as I can. Secondly, if anyone would like to be my Beta reader, please let me know. I could really use someone who can help me go over my stuff so I can make it better all around. Other then that? Please enjoy the story and let me know what you think!_

**Insanity's Requiem (II)**

Prologue

Kayura stood before her alter, head bent in prayer as she clutched a small purple gem within her almost frail looking fingertips. Bright eyes watched over her clasped hands, her pert lips touched together in a frown of worry and thought. Cloth billowed about her in the form of her ceremonial robes, long black hair cascading down her back and almost onto the floor. Breathing a deep sigh, she glanced over at the Ancient's staff, as if expecting it to do something, to tell her what it was she needed to do, "Ancient, give me guidance. Trouble is upon us once more, and again the Ronins have begun to battle without knowledge as to why they must do so."

"You can't help that, Lady Kayura," A firm voice behind her caught her attention, though she didn't turn to great it.

"I know, Dais. But I worry. Darkness has begun to move against us, in all realms. The Ronins once more have responded to the call to arms, but…"

"You're worried about her, aren't you?" Another voice beside Dais spoke out, the figure stepping from the shadows. Dark hair fell over a scared eye, and though he wore a simple Hakama and Gi, a wicked sword hung at his side.

Kayura nodded, "They've attacked the guardian of the spirits of the armors. She said she would be fine, but if that was the case, then why did she give me this to hold onto?"

"Meaning she's expecting to get caught and loose," Dais spoke up, folding his arms as Kayura nodded, "Yes. That's exactly it."

_A face, usually cheerful, was now deadly serious, marked with bruises and cuts in a pale skin. Hair that usually framed a smiling face now limply fell over her shoulder as the girl held out a purple gem in her fingers, offering the item to Kayura, "Don't worry Kayura, I will be fine. I have to lead them away…"_

_"We could protect you," Kayura debated to the girl._

_"I have fought to remain unknown, as have my forefathers that have guarded this gem. However, somehow the demons have discovered my whereabouts. I thought I was safe, hidden within the populace, but it appears that as long as I have this, they can now track me. I must go out and lead them away. I cannot let them touch the strength within this jewel, and you know that."_

_"I know, but it doesn't make it any easier to accept. Not once, in history, has a Guardian had to go into hiding, had to be separated from the jewel." _

_"I know that. I know the lore from my people, long dead, passed down to me by my mother when it was time for me to take up the responsibility. I KNOW this, Kayura! Please, take it!" The girl was firm in her request, shoving the thing at the Ancient. "Kayura, you yourself came to me, two months ago, when the demons began to rise. Please, you said at the time that I could ask favors from you in times of great need, and this is it!"_

_Kayura sighed, taking the gem from the girl's hands, "But…"_

_"Thank you, Kayura. Look, Arrow and I are going to lead the demons away, throw them off the scent of who actually is holding it. That's the best I can do, without being able to use the powers of it right now. I can at least buy you a little bit of time as you try to figure out what to do. With you, I leave my spirits: Boreas of light, Inigashi of Fire, Undine of Water, Zakei of Earth and Zephyr of the Wind. I know that it's a bit hasty, but they can find me if I survive this."_

_Behind the girl stood the five figures, each alight in their own elements, nodding in the order of their names being called._

_"See? It will be alright, Kayura. I'm leaving now. I spent too much time here anyways, and have to see if I can get the demons away. I don't know why they attacked, but they've been doing it for a month now." The girl quickly unloaded her information, "I and the spirits have been watching them, and that's probably how they found me out. I do know they are rising, intent on invading Earth. They are having a difficult time massing in numbers because of the _Door_, but I don't think it will hold them back for too long, even reinforced. They have a new leader, ambitious too from the looks of it…He wants blood, tears, sorrow…everything that Talpa character wanted. I won't let that happen, and you know you can't either."_

_"But…Lenaira!"_

_" I'm going now. I have Arrow, don't worry. Good luck to you Kayura and best of wishes if we are destined to not meet again!"_

A low, deeper almost raspy voice spoke, "She did well to bring it here where it could not be reached. We can protect it as others cannot. By taking precautions such as these, her sacrifice won't be wasted. Be grateful for that, for the fact that she is buying us all time to figure out what to do about the things that are beginning to emerge again."

"Distasteful true, but it sometimes has to be done. Lenaira did her ancestors proud, including by staying hidden till this time," Dais nodded, his cold logic shining through in his one good eye. White hair tumbled about his face as he patted his hands against the black Hakama. Shifting, he leaned against the hard wood of the walls, mindful of the paper door behind them all in the room. The fire ablaze before them lit his face in an eerie glow.

"I know, but it doesn't make me like it any more. Please, keep an eye on the borders. If you think it necessary, and if the Ronins spot you, inform them of this. Otherwise? Leave the information they have right now as is. I want solid proof of who the leader of the Demon's Rising before we take a plan of action," Kayura spoke, this time authoritatively as she stood to face the others. Each of the men nodded at her before leaving. Nothing had to be said. They knew what they had to do.

Kayura turned, holding up the gem before her face before slipping it over her head and onto her neck, "I pray you survive this day, and return to smile once more."

* * *

Hard breathing and the pounding of feet in endless repetition, that was what was left to do, the rush found amidst the panic. Brown hair, impossibly long, flew behind flew in a ponytail sort of fashion. Ornate clothing flew about her form, a sheer pink, shimmering cloth floated about her arms, seemingly seeped in power as it floated about the frantically moving form. Chinese style shoes, flat but comfortable in the color purple pounded against the ground in a flurry as strips of cloth that normally hung down from her hips whipped about wildly. Purple pants of a simple cloth lined her legs in the form fitting style of a martial artist's uniform. Feathers hung from her ears and headband, beads about her waist and wrists. She looked like a priestess that just stepped out of the pages of a fairy tail book. Well…she used to anyways. All of her clothing had obviously seen better days. Torn, smudged and all together in bad shape, everything bore evidence of a rushed retreat. Branches from the trees tore at the ripped fabric, making tears worse till the only thing that was of it's former brilliance was the pink scarf like cloth about the girl's arms and the silver flute within her hand.

"Arrow! Come on! We have to get out of here now!" The girl looked up at the horse sized wolfish creature with a nod, "They've found us again!"

The large dog guffawed, his flanks marked with red cuts, dried and wet blood and signs of battle. His indomitable endurance was beginning to fade, the chase they were taking part in having gone on for too long.

"At least we…got the gem to Kayura, that's all I'm happy about," Her voice held an exhaustion within it's depths, but still she did not stop, "Even if we fail, it is beyond their hands at this point. We have nothing to regret."

"No, but what about yourself? You must survive!" A firery voice entered her mind as she glanced to the figure flying at her side, wings of fire flapping rapidly to keep up the pace within his smaller form.

"Inigashi! I'm fine, but you need to be with the gem! Don't worry about me, I'm not important now!"

'Bull! That isn't true!'

"Don't argue with me!" She stopped, standing up, shoulders heaving, face glistening with sweat from within the moonlit trees about them.

'Lenaira! You know we don't think that,' A calmer voice, one of light and healing strength preceded another being of light, wearing cloth the color of green and wings of white feathers.

"I know, but you kno what's important now! You have to get back to the jewel and protect it. If I die, you have to find the new bearer, and teach them what they need to know! Now get out of here! Soul Demons are on their way, and you know they don't care what they suck up, Spirit or Soul! Now scat, both of you! Don't let me down!" Lenaira frowned, watching them nod reluctantly, flying off to protect the thing she ordered them to look after.

With a great sigh, she shook her head before blinking. A flash of light behind her told her that Arrow could hold up no more, and was at his former regular husky sized form. He was done in, and she not far behind. Turning, she gave him a smile, "Arrow….get out of here…"

The dog shook his head. He wasn't leaving, "Alright then. It's up to us now. Lets go!"

About to begin running, she heard the silence of the forest, an eerie settling of sound, a bare forewarning as a chill ran up her spin, hissing laughs filtering into the area. Slowly, from the shadows of the trees emerged creatures glowing eyes, grotesque and misshapen bodies covered in patches of fur. Sharp teeth glittered from within their mouths as they lurched forward. Turning, she backed up, "Seekers….."

"Yessss…descendent of Celeste…" One hissed, the numbers about her beginning to increase. A rapid count told her there were about 20 in all, "Gives ussss…what we want….."

"The jewel…."

"Yesss…the jewel of spirits…"

"Give it to usssss…."

"I will do nothing of the sort! You can't get it from me now. It's beyond your reach!" She tried to sound haughty, but it came out tired and weakened. She knew she couldn't fend all of them off, no matter how she tried. Panic began to stir in her chest as he spoke up, "Oh yesss……you will give it to usss….one way or anothers…."

Claws backed by rippling muscles covered in course fur began tearing at her as she moved to cover her head, trying not to get hit. Arrow was already down, unable to help in the fight. About to accept her face of death, a stern male voice filtered into the area followed by the brightest flare of lightning she had ever seen, "Thunder Bolt CUT!"

Demons hissed, lunging back to get away from the light, about 15 of them taken out by the slash that had felled the shocking strength. Others began to retreat away from the area, to come back at another time. A man in green armor leapt into the area, startling Lenaira into a dropping of her jaw, "Halo…it's the armor of Halo…"

Pulling her wounded body into a standing position, she watched him closely as he turned. Gray eyes framed by blond hair met with the brown amber of her own, seeming to try to glean answers from the gaze alone. Gathering up her courage once more, she spoke out, "Who are you…?"

"Sage of Halo. Don't be afraid, that was the last of them I think," He spoke, his voice pleasant to hear after hours of terrified running, "Who are you?"

"Lenaira. My name is Lenaira."

That was when a loud screech was heard to her right side. Gasping, she whipped about, trying to ready herself to defend as the demon cackled into the air, slashing her chest. The tear of cloth accompanied her scream of pain as she wheeled backwards, her flesh beginning to bubble with blood, staining the ruined clothing. Collapsing to the ground, she barely saw the green armored man slice the demon down as she fell, hitting her head hard on the large tree behind her. Slowly she slid into unconsciousness, oblivious to the world at last.

* * *

Startled, the man whirled around from the felled demon in time to see the girl fall, unconscious. As quick as ever, Sage made his way beside the girl before hearing another snarl. Leaping back, expecting another attack, he was startled to find a large dog standing over the girl. Grey fir with splotches of black, the dog was clearly a husky wolfish mix, heavily wounded and clearly not wanting the Sage anywhere near the girl upon the ground. With a sigh, Sage took a step forward, thinking he could get through, but again, the dog made as if to attack. He was frustrated, but kept it out of his voice, "Look dog, I only want to help her. I'm not a demon."

The dog began stepping back away from the girl slowly, still kept his hackles raised and tail in the air, a sign he was ready to spring if he saw something wrong. Sage smiled slightly, "Don't worry….I'm not going to do anything untoward…You guys are lucky I was on patrol."

Glancing down at the girl, he grimaced. The scratches were deeper then he thought, and far nastier too. Ignoring her odd clothing, he sighed, calling his armor back. Ignoring the fact that her clothing was split open in the chest, he pulled his outer shirt off, tearing it into shreds for bandages, "Why couldn't Mia have been here for this…"

He sighed, finishing the job. Quickly turning to his powers from his armor, he used what energy he could spare to fortify her healing system before picking her up gently against him. Turning, he began to take her towards the mansion, the dog following behind him. This just seemed to be one weird day.

* * *

_

* * *

Well, there it is! What do you think? Different I know, but it's all good I suppose. Any ideas? Suggestions? Fire away. I'd like to see what you come up with to see me try in the case that you do have something. Challenges are welcome too:P Well, until next time I suppose!_

_Thanks,_

_Hikaru_


	2. Introducing a New Person

_Oh goodness, look how time flies. I've had this chapter ready to go up for more than a year, but life really bit me in the rear. I can't guarantee I'm going to be about constantly like I was a year ago, but I'm definitely going to try to at least finish this story. Wish me luck, looks like even has changed on me!_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Night had surrounded the land, and with it, an eerie calm. Cye sat out cups of tea while the group waited for Sage's return. Odd things had been happening recently, and with them, disappearances and odd murders. He doubted it could have been one of Talpa's old crew, but it's not like they could rule out the old Dynasty as an option. A year or so had passed since that battle, and so many others, leaving them with a much more mature outlook on life, if nothing else. Now, each of them roughly seventeen, they all boarded with Mia to go to a school nearby, hopefully not to get split up too soon after their need to heal from past wounds. Besides, it gave them the opportunity to try to figure out what all was going on before a mass panic occurred.

However…it did allow for some amazingly amusing sites. A grumble of irritation sounded around the room as Cye glanced at Mia and Ryo with a bit of a smirk on her lips that mirrored their's. The dark haired youth and brunette woman sat on the sofa, leaning against each other as they attempted not to laugh at the sight before them. A few more swear words and the three had to hide behind their cups of tea as Kento grumbled about some move made on the chessboard. Pride had gotten the better of him in a fight with Rowen, and now they were duking it out over Mia's beautiful little chess board she had inherited. Rowen was, as ever; cool as a cucumber, making move after planned move. The end result, of course…Kento was guaranteed to lose!

"That's cheating, Ro! Dammit!" Kento growled as his queen was taken from the board.

Rowen snickered, his blue hair flipping away from his eyes as he brushed it aside, "Not likely. I believe my bishop can move that way. Why, getting angry at your losing in the game of your choice?"

"Shut up, you blue haired….fruit!" Kento glared at Rowen, "I could win this if you weren't so cheating everywhere…you...cheater!"

Mia couldn't hold out. She started laughing. Kento quickly whirled about to glare at her, about to say something else in reply when a loud growl escaped White Blaze's lips as he appeared in the room, standing near the fireplace. But a moment later, the door to the house slammed open and there stood Sage as he quickly walked into the main room where they all were, dressed in his under gear looking greatly harried as he glared down at an injured wolfish dog. The dog was panting loudly, hobbling and weak from injuries, but appeared feral. And yet, that wasn't the true thing that got everyone's attention. Sage was carrying an unconscious girl, in the strangest clothing any of them had seen outside of Kayura's get up.

"Sage, what happened while you were on part-"

"Who the hell is that? She looks terrible!"

"Dude, you look terrible! What happened out there?!"

Sage sighed, turning to Mia, "Mia, help me out here. She was injured out there, attacked by some strange creatures. She needs bandaging, and I'd gather a place to rest. I know I would…perhaps some silence too…"

The hint was thinly veiled, but everyone in the room quickly quieted down as Mia got up and rushed forward, ushering Sage up the stairs as quickly as she could to one of the spare guest rooms in her rather large household. Calling out orders, she quickly had all the guys moving in true 'you had better listen' fashion. Cye was running for water, Rowen for the first aide kit while Ryo was moving for spare blankets. Making use of Kento's strength, there was soon a bed moved away from the window and comfortably settled as the items arrived. Sage settled the girl on the bed, admiring yet again how much the group could get done in so little time. Trying hard not to pull on the woman's ridiculously long hair, Sage suddenly became fumble fingered. Damn that gash on her shirt…

Mia glanced over at him, sighed and quickly whirled about. In the most take charge attitude she had, she started speaking quickly but quietly at the men gathered in the room, "Move! You all are getting in my way. Go get me more tea, sit down in the sitting room, and I'll be there soon as I'm done! For warriors, you lot are a sure sorry lot when it comes to ladies. Shoo!"

With that, each of the men quickly ran out of the room, scrambling to get the tea made. Cye just calmly made all of them sit down on the sofa while he went and grabbed more tea. This promised to be a long night, judging by the look on Sage's face.

"Master….Master!"

"What is it…?" A voice filtered from the dark shadows in an under lit, rather creepy looking throne room. The pillars of this room rose to support the ceiling, the room done in a true medieval fashion. Everything was in a kingly state, if only in slight disrepair. However, the elegance of the room could not cover up the gloomy emptiness it now held, after ten years of treatment in this fashion.

Regardless of the rich appearance of the room and whatever else that could possibly be described, however, the figure swathed in black cloth slowly settled in the throne in the room, the torches about it lightly to reveal who he was. A man, swathed in blue and black cloth, his blond hair fell over one of his eyes. His over all face bore a rather sly quality to it, and it was obvious that he cared little but for what it was he wanted at the time he wanted it. However, his appearance was immaculate, and that was all he truly cared about.

"What is it, Gamul?" His voice was smooth, silky even.

"The lady you sent me after…it seems she has disappeared. The Spirit Guardian has...vanished, Master." The man reporting was a hunched over little thing, clearly of demonic origin himself. Goblin in nature, it was almost as though he was a mix matched being, his arms being too long for his body, he had multitudes of pock marks and scars in random places on his terrible green skin. Black scraggly hair lined his face, and while he could possibly have had some manner of beauty, it was lost in the way he cowered before his master.

"What?!" The man on the throne leaned forward, his eyes wide in shock, "Did you not send a seeker group after her?"

"Yes, sir. A full twenty in number."

"Hmm…this is most disturbing news. I want her found. We need that gem the witch carries, if we can't have the witch herself. Send out what you must. Now be gone!" The man on the throne sat back in his chair, leaning to the side to pick up a glass near his seat. The little Gamul quickly rushed out of the room, scrambling over the marble tiles, while the handsome man smirked, slowly gazing in the glass in his hand.

"Hmm…it seems the game is not yet over. Well then, let us see who catches the butterfly, shall we? Let it be fun, for I plan to catch it for my own."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mia finally came down from the steps, sighing gently as she moved down them slowly. Bandaging up that woman had been difficult, if only because it was hard to figure out where some wounds came and went. It was clear that she had been half healed on the way, Mia suspected that was Sage's doing and mentally applauded the man. Those wounds had to have been fifteen times worse before she arrived at the house.

As she entered the seating room, she was greeted by five familiar but serious faces. Each looked up at her, curious for the answers that none of them were sure they should ask right off. So, as usual, Mia took charge of the situation, "The girl will be fine. Seems like the wounds she had before were a lot worse before we got to them, so we've got something to out advantage."

Sage nodded while the others glanced at them. Seemed Mia was right. She continued, "Whatever it was that attacked her, however, was going for force and damage, but doesn't appear lethal. None of the deeper wounds are around the neck, or where you could potentially make a fatal cut. Pain, not death was what was occurring here. Regardless though, she's bandaged up pretty well and is resting. I'd say she's exhausted, and I can't really say I blame her. Sage, can you clue us all in on what's going on?"

Sage nodded, speaking softly in his normal way, "My patrol, as you know. I ended up hearing noises of a battle in the forest, and quickly moved to see what it was. I saw that dog over there…"

Sage pointed to the dog lying near the fire place next to Blaze, clearly bandaged by possibly Ryo's careful hands. The dog, just like the woman, was sleeping, "He was collapsed and she was well near it. It was frightening, only because of what they were attacked by. I swear, the things were demons, and I mean it in the most literal sense possible. Muscles, stench, fur…they were made to kill and rend. Whoever sent them in was aiming for sport. I feel sorry for the girl."

"Do you know anything else, Sage?" Ryo spoke up, handing a cup to Mia while he sat her down on the sofa. The unspoken leader of the group was stepping up this time, searching or answers to the best of his ability. The questioned blond leaned back, pursing his lips together with a sigh, "Oh, she said her name was…L…Le…Lenaira, I believe. But that was about it. She hit her head pretty hard though. She's going to have a huge headache when she wakes."

"It's just one thing after another, isn't it, boys?" Rowen spoke, leaning back in a chair as he propped feet up on the table in front of him. Mia's glare was lost on him, however, "And we've had no luck in contacting the Warlord group either. Kayura must be pretty busy, she normally responds pretty quickly when one of us call on her."

"I don't know, buddies. But it sounds to me like things are about to pick up," Kento grinned, punching his fists together. "It'll be a pain, but I'm thinking we're going to have some fun."

"Only you would think that," Cye sighed, picking up spare dishes to be placed gently in the kitchen in a few minutes, "I say wait a little and we'll find out what to do from there. Frankly, we can run another patrol, or wait till the woman wakes up. It's really an either way sort of thing. And both scenarios point to more and more waiting."

"Cye's right. I say we sleep on it, try to relax and figure things out for now. Then, when we've a chance, we'll see things as they need to be in the morning. We'll do a full on investigation then. Sound good? We'll set a watch on…Lenaira while we do. That way we can figure out what's going on," Ryo spoke to everyone, and slowly, everyone nodded, "Alright then. Lets head to bed, and we'll talk in the morning."

The group slowly stood, heading to pick things up. It seemed a long night was ahead of all of them, and the morning would be longer still.

Morning dawned, bright and early as it always did. Yet, this time, it seemed painful. Opening pale eyes, the girl grimaced, squinting up at the ceiling…wait, ceiling?! She glanced around quickly, frowning. Had she been taken alive? Wait…why would she be worried about that...oh pain, pain!

A rush of things flooded her head as she slowly sat up, shifting to glance over about the room. No, this wasn't anything lavish. In fact, it was comfortable. Reaching up, she pushed her brown hair from her eyes, glancing out the nearby window. A lake…how lovely. All of this was so much to take in, and at the same time, she felt somewhat restful, though in a lot of pain still. Turning her head to the left, however, she was startled. In the chair next to the bed was a young man, dozing. She looked at him, staring intently. He had a fair face, and a shock of bright blond hair that covered one of his eyes. He was familiar to her. Last night! Of course, he was the one who rescued her.

Well, she'd not wake him. She wasn't sure where she was, but she was certain, despite the bandages and the aching headache, that these people probably weren't to be trusted and she couldn't stay much longer. Those things would be on her trail again, and she had to rush to get as far away as she could. Slowly, she slipped on her shoes nearby and blinked down at herself.

Someone had changed her clothes on her! A baggy shirt, and shorts, oh heavens. What was going on? She blushed, but softly got out of bed, doing her best not to wake the man near her.

However, just as she reached the door she heard, "Where are you going?"

She froze, "I am not…sure."

"Stay a bit. We've questions, and you may have answers. We're not going to hurt you, but I'm not going to let you leave while you're still injured."

Lenaira turned slowly to glance over her shoulder, her eyes widening as a grey eye looked up at her, peaking at her gently, "You must be tired…I owe you a thank you for saving me and Arrow."

"It's fine. Lenaira, right? C'mon..." He grunted as he slowly stood up, "Let's go get something to eat, and maybe freshen up. The day will probably look a lot better."

Lenaira nodded, frowning just slightly. She didn't know what to make of this man. He was…Sage, that was right, Sage of Halo, "You're a Ronin, aren't you? Sage of...Halo. Very well, let us go eat." She moved to walk through the door slowly, moving gently as the breeze and her injuries would allow.

Sage stood there, silent. How did she know he was a Ronin?!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_And that's that! I'll have the next one up soonish, hopefully, but I really do pray that you enjoyed it. I'm hoping the story will kick start me back into writing, since that's really all I want to do with all of this. As always, leave reviews and I'll do my best to respond!_

_And special thanks to Inda and Meira, for not giving up on me when it really seemed they should. Till next time!_

_Hikaru_


	3. Igniting the Spark of Hope

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story from the Canon of Ronin Warriors/Samurai Troopers. I do, however, own the spirits and Lenaira and other original characters. Oh! I don't own the world either. Sure is a fun place to write in though, isn't it? :)_

**Chapter 2: Igniting a Spark of Hope**

_by Silverarte (Formerly Hikaru1617)_

Trepidation truly was the theme of the day for anyone involved in any part of the strange happenings this past week. Demons attacks, the gathering of the Ronin, a strange girl who obviously didn't know what normal fashion was even for the Netherworld..why, it looked almost normal to see the young thing sitting at the table surrounded by five men and a fox-haired woman. In fact, it would have been downright normal if it had come from some form of a sitcom or another.

Unfortunately, it wasn't and nerves were running high. Lenaira was clearly uncomfortable, and Sage, having done his duty, didn't seem to really want to say much more. His habit was to listen and analyze, which was precisely what he was doing. No one in the room trusted the girl. No one in the room had a clue what was going on either!

"So..." Mia finally spoke, "Obviously we know your name, Lenaira, but can you give us anything else as to what was going on last night?"

The girl frowned, but glanced up at Mia. It was probably the most they'd seen the girl react since she sat down and ate the breakfast that was placed before her. It was no stretch of the imagination that the girl looked like she was ready to take off running again, and the way her dog sat closed to her mirrored the way White Blaze would do to Ryo. The look on his face was clear. 'Don't touch my friend.'

Lenaira's hand was gentle atop the canine's head, scratching idly as though the small contact was something she was taking a slight bit of comfort in. The young woman had an intelligent gaze and appeared to be roughly the age they were, sixteen. Her overly long hair was tied back with a small scarf that Mia had lended to her, and frankly, she was debating how much she could truly trust this group around her.

The silence dragged on for a while longer before Kento finally stood and exclaimed, "Come on! You must know you can say _something_ of what is going on. I mean, we saved you!"

Rowen spoke up, "You mean, Sage did."

Sage had the grace to look away from the table, somewhat embarrassed. Kento, however, was not deterred by Rowen's words, "Whatever. She was saved and we want to know what's going on. Why isn't she saying anything at all? We just want to know what's going on, and it's clear she knows a-"

"I do know why."

Kento froze mid-sentence and turned his gaze towards Lenaira once more. Immediately, all eyes were trained on the girl whose hands were tightly folded in her lap. Ryo quickly spoke up, assuming the role he typically took when the group was together, "Then will you tell us?"

"No," Lenaira's eyes shifted to the ground, training themselves to it. If they were staring in some sort of anime, this would clearly have been the time for the face faulting to the floor. Her words were to the point and while amongst the first she spoke, they were not at all what they wanted to hear. Kento once more puffed up his chest to react when Cye reached up to place a hand on the man's shoulder. Mia quickly lifted her voice to take control, "Why won't you tell us what's going on?"

The young woman looked up at Mia before biting her lip. It was a moment of time before she nodded and said once more, "Because once I tell you, you are involved. You could be enemy or friend, I know not. But the less you know, the better off you are."

"But it's clear you already know about the armors. You recognized Sage's armor by sight and that's quite the feat," Cye finally said, "We understand you're probably frightened. But you can trust us."

"You aren't sure you can trust me, though." Lenaira said frankly.

Several of the men winced before she continued, "It isn't very surprising you know. I just dropped out of the sky, so to speak, into your laps. It will be a matter of time before I have to leave again. There isn't much of a choice. They will follow my scent, now that they know it, to the ends of the world and back. I cannot endanger you more then I have. That is my duty. I am sorry if this offends you."

Now duty, these people understood. However, it was Sage who finally figured out what he had to say, "If they can follow your scent, how does this mean we are not in danger?"

Lenaira widened her dark brown eyes, shifting them to focus on Sage in surprise before he continued. "They will know you are here, and more so, they now know mine. I can't imagine that they will leave someone be that they know can stand up to them. It isn't a very good situation for anyone involved in such things, is it?"

Kento quickly added, "Besides, you owe us-OW!"

Rowan elbowed Kento in the stomach while Mia and Cye aimed a glare at the boisterous man. "Owing or not is not in the question here, Kento. We do these things because we must and nothing more. Besides, nearly being ripped to shreds by those things is more than enough of a traumatic experience a-..Oop...!"

By now, everyone at the table was staring at Rowan, Lenaira included. Rowan quickly apologized, "Sorry, Lenaira. I don't mean to be rude. It's just that any information at all would help us greatly. In fact, we need it to survive. That is the nature of what we do as bearers of these Armors."

A memory began to come to the girl's mind, filtering through as though the person who had said the very words were standing right next to her.

"_Lenaira, wait...!"_

_Lenaira had whirled about, beginning to run out of the temple that Kayura had made her home with the Warlords. Standing at the top of the stairs, in all her regal glory, Kayura watched her with the Jewel of Spirits within her fingers. Concern lined the older woman's face, contorting the youthful countenance into something that seemed much older than Lenaira could probably fully fathom. _

_Kayura had then gently smiled saying, "I know you are doing what you feel right, but I don't want you to die..."_

_Lenaira opened her mouth, "Kayura...you kno-"_

"_I know!" Kayura said immediately, causing the young woman to stare at the older in surprise. Lenaira was suddenly struck by the different lives and cultures in which they both lived, but somehow had united inspite of. Kayura then continued, "But a wish is a wish. Should the fates themselves smile upon you, and you meet them, trust in the bearers of the Armors as you do myself and the Warlords."_

_Lenaira frowned, "I cannot bring anyone into this more then I ha-"_

"_Lenaira."_

_Lenaira froze, lifting her gaze to meet Kayura's once again._

"_Trust them as you do me. Should you run into them, it will be ok. Trust them."_

_The brunette finally nodded, closing her eyes with a sigh, "Alright. Should the fates shine and I meet the armor bearers, then I will trust in you to place my trust in them."_

_With that, Lenaira whirled around and began zipping down the way towards the portal that would take her to where she needed to be._

Arrow whimpered beneath Lenaira's hand as the girl sighed. Those words reminded her of the promise she had made not that long ago, and as Kayura herself had done her a favour, she would honor her own promise in kind. The young woman began to speak, "..Alright. I can't tell you everything, but I do not want you to suffer on my behalf. If I may have another cup of tea, I will tell you what I can."

Those gathered smiled in their own ways and Cye graciously stood to get the girl another cup.

_Good job, Sage. I didn't think of to say that. How did you figure to use that?_

_I didn't. I was just being reasonable without being pushy. If you listen to her, you'll find the nuances yourself and besides, I don't think I was the only contributing factor to her decision._

With that, Ryo winced. Sage was good at what he did, anyone had to admit that. Ryo just didn't really like it being rubbed in his nose when he couldn't figure out something for himself.

* * *

Within Lenaira's hands was the requested cup of tea as the others got comfortable for whatever it was she was about to say. However, doubt riddled within her chest. Was she truly doing the right thing by the people who had risked their lives time and again for the very world she was standing upon at this moment? What could she leave out, what couldn't she?

Finally, she swallowed the breath she didn't know she was holding and lifted her gaze to look at the six sitting about the table who watched her with avid intensity, "As you know, my name is Lenaira. I am a descendant from a clan who aided in the guidance of the armors. And before you ask, I have absolutely no smithing ability what so ever and according to my mother, neither did they."

The woman was holding up a hand as if to forestall the question that she assumed would be there. Raising the cup of tea in her other hand, she took a sip while Mia hid a smile behind her hand. This girl wasn't used to people, was she? She was fidgeting and clearly awkward. The older woman was familiar with that sort of thing at least, and it made her sympathize with the stranger. It was no hard task considering that Rowan's calculating eyes and Sage's unwavering, piercing gaze were trained on the girl.

"And to start, I should explain a bit about what I mean by all this," Lenaira continued, "Much like the Ancient ones, we were tasked with protecting certain things. For my clan, it is the protection of the spirits themselves. Every power, every item, being, living thing, has a spirit. This lends power to its existence, and in turn, gives it a unique signature if you will. By following your inner spirit, I could, say, identify you without ever looking. This is the purpose of the spirit amongst many others."

"Is it safe to assume that everything has a representative spirit, but not necessarily a corpreal body?" Rowan asked. Lenaira nodded in reply, "Very much so. There are many spirits in nature like that."

Ryo pursed his lips and said, "Which is good to know, but I don't see how this connects to the current issues at hand."

"I am getting to that. You see, with everything having a certain energy signature, it can also be broken by another. There are many spirits that are not attached to bodies. They could be similar..say...to the spirit of the West Wind or that of the Northern Oceans. Powerful entities, but not human or physical in the slightest."

Ryo nodded, "Go on."

Lenaira took the chance to glance about the table and saw what she expected. It was clear Kento wasn't sure if he could believe her, judging by the skeptic look on his face. Rowan looked intrigued. Cye was at least somewhat interested, and Mia's interest apparently was unmatched. She was clearly memorizing all she could for some comparison later while Sage's and Ryo's faces were unreadable at best. The woman sighed before she added, "To have such a thing exist, however, there must be an antithesis."

"The idea of Balance, yes? Yin and yang?" Mia asked and once more, Lenaira nodded, "Yes indeed. That's precisely it."

"Then what is the opposite?" Cye asked, tilting his brown head curiously.

"Well...frankly, the answer would be a demon. If a spirit thrives on the energy of life, the thing that thrives on destruction and the absence there of would be a demon. And as there are many types of spirits, there are also many types of demons. I'll admit now that I do not know a tremendous amount about them. I have a friend who knows more but...she'd be a bit hard to reach right now and it'd be a bad idea for me to try anyways."

"Why?" Ryo asked.

Lenaira frowned and said, "I cannot and will not say at this time."

Kento sighed, a motion followed by Arrow and White Blaze. The entire happening would have been more amusing if the tone of the discussion hadn't been so serious. Ryo merely ran his fingers idly through his raven black hair and said, "Well, alright. What else is there?"

"Well...most demons aren't seen here because they are sealed behind a door. Well, I suppose it'd be closer to say a 'gate' a-"

"Let me guess. Someone is trying to open it for their own heinous plots and needs someone of your clan to do it for him because it somehow requires spirits?" Rowen asked, his voice cheerful at the tone of his light hearted joke.

Those around the table chuckled slightly, the entire sound of what Rowen described sounding like it came from some sort of fairytale or a cliché from a badly written novel. As the group chuckled, however, Lenaira merely stared at the blue haired man for a moment before she said, "...Um...how did you know?"

Everyone at the table turned to stare at the woman before she reached up and unconsciously tugged on her ponytail. Was she really doing the right thing in telling these people what she was? So far from home, she had been destined to die at the hands of those beings. Now she watched as they clamoured, groaned or had varying actions as according to their natures. The black haired one, Ryo they had called him, just seemed incredulous while the one with blue (Rowan?)seemed to ponder something in her words. The one named Kento was boisterous about how enemies seemed to always pick the most ridiculous routes while the light brown-haired man seemed to be taking strides to help calm the man. Meanwhile, the woman named Mia was staring at Ryo, as though waiting for his next move.

All the while, Sage's eyes were trained on her. Of anyone, he had seen what the others hadn't in those grotesque creatures that had been chasing her. He wasn't taking her words for granted. It sparked a little something inside of her. These men were taking her seriously. This wasn't a joke to them.

"_Trust them as you do me. Should you run into them, it will be ok. Trust them."_

Lenaira clapped her hands together softly, a motion made more for the movement than the noise. She somehow took comfort in the action as she took Kayura's words to heart. She'd have to. There really wasn't much of an option anymore until the Ancient had done what she needed to do to help end this nightmare.

"_...trust them."_

And for the first time in a while, Lenaira felt the spark of hope.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-

_Whew! It's been a while. I feel somewhat relieved I actually got to write this! Please let me know what you think. I'm more than happy to see what it is and go from there. _

_Anyways, life got rather crazy for a while but I am glad to be back. I did change my Penname from Hikaru1617 to Silverarte, just as an fyi, so yes, it's me! As a final bit, I no longer have a Beta so to warn you, I'm doing all my editting myself. This will be slow going for a time but I hope you enjoy the story as much as I am writing it._

_A Special Thanks to jazzmonkey. You never gave up on my stories, and it made me want to come back to try again. :)_

_Silverarte_


	4. Calm Before the Storm

_Disclaimer: Of course, I don't own the Ronins or any characters from the series. I do own Lenaira and Arrow and other original characters like that. :)_

**Chapter 3: The Calm Before the Storm**

Insanity's Requiem

By Silverarte

Sinking into a large armchair, Mia sighed, her head sliding back against the back of it. Her mind was reeling from the information she had received, information that she truly needed to attempt to let soak in as quickly as possible so that she could help her boys as much as she could. The problem was, the scholar in her was protesting in a rather magnificent way. The things Lenaira spoke about warred with the logic she had lived with for so long, and while she knew the ins and outs of the armors themselves, she had never once heard of spirits or their power being part of them.

"Mi, you alright?"

The gentle voice caused the woman to lift her hand, looking up to spy a familiar black-haired young man staring down at her from the back of the chair. She smiled faintly, her eyes meeting the familiar tiger-blue of the young man's as she said, "I will be, Ryo."

He leaned over to press a hand against her forehead, saying, "I hope so. You aren't running a fever or anything..so.."

The woman laughed. Shaking her head, she reached up to grip his hand in hers as she then said, "It's more that I feel like I am out of my depth, and that is the true essence of the issue. If all we learned was true, it changes certain demographics of what has to happen next, doesn't it?"

_Headaches were abundant this night, it would seem. Mia was currently rubbing her temples as Cye finally managed to calm their large friend down. Normally a cheerful soul, Kento certainly could raise a ruckus when he wanted to. When the clamor stopped, the woman's eyes assessed Lenaira closely and Mia was struck with a bit of pity for the girl._

_The girl was huddled in her chair by the end of it, wrought with confusion and what Mia could only assume was a battle within herself. She wasn't sure of anything that Mia or her warriors could do or provide, or even how much she could say and still try to keep them safe. Just how long had this girl been on the run, anyways?_

"_Lenaira, please, what do the spirits have to do with this gate?"_

_The girl looked at Mia, her gaze intelligent and it caused Mia to inwardly frown. Lenaira was attempting to be brave, and frankly, Mia could understand that. If only they could help her understand that none of them had any intention of causing her harm. _

_Lenaira began speaking, interrupting Mia's reverie, "Well...spirits can act as conduits of power. You see, as sentient beings like we are, or like a...well, cat, our spirits are a part of us. They aren't separate and are confined by our souls. It's like a triad of balance between the physical, the mind and your soul. But for items that do not have that, such as a tree, a plant, the air...these things do not have a mind and a soul to keep a 'spirit' in check, right?"_

_Mia nodded. Kento began to look a bit lost, but Rowen and Sage were staring at the woman intently, following the basics of what she was speaking about._

"_Well, the armors, such as the one of Halo, also has one. Or I should say, it has a guardian spirit. There are multitudes of spirits that are part of light, and the same can be said for any element. But a specifically powerful one was appointed to each of the armors back during their creation. Each of the armors have a spirit maintained within them...which makes them an exception to the rule at large. I can't tell you why this is, though I assume the clan I am from does have the information somewhere._

_However, the spirits within your armors normally sleep, making it very easy for their bearers to utilize the power they do. The idea of the guardian spirit was to make sure that these armors have a base for..the natural in whatever world they go to. With the armors being from a demonic entity, perse, they would normally create ripples and utterly unbalance the world they are in. Humans couldn't use them before the virtues were instilled, linking them to the spiritual power base they have today."_

_Mia's eyes widened as Lenaira continued, "If these guardian spirits hadn't 'linked' their powers to the armors, the armors would have been uncontrollable. Again, mortals couldn't use them before the link between the spirits and armors was put in place after all. I'd imagine the earth probably would have been completely totaled. But that's an assumption."_

_A thought had apparently occurred to Ryo, because he spoke up from where he sat beside Mia, tilting his head just a bit, "Wait, so without the spirits, we'd be unstoppable?"_

"_No, without the spirits you'd destroy yourselves and everything nearby. It's a matter of chaos for things that don't normally belong in this specific world. The powers of your armors well..." The girl clearly hesitated before she continued, "The linkage of your armors to the spirits actually partially dictates how much power you can utilize. It's why say...the Armor of Wildfire is much stronger within a volcano. The presence of spirits of fire and heat are incredibly numerous and the armor will charge itself from the power of the element through the spiritual conduit provided."_

_The dumbfounded look on Ryo's face would have been priceless had the explanation not been so serious. Mia's question was more to the point. "So wait. You're saying that if the spirits are absent, the armors are powerless?"_

_The girl pursed her lips, saying, "That is one theory. I can't confirm that, but from what I've seen..the armors have a battery if you will. They mostly recharge on their own. In the absence of the powers of the spirits to ferret the powers to them, however, they will recharge not through the elements, but through the spiritual being of their bearers should the bearers require them to act beyond their means. A situation like this is normally impossible, however, upon the earth. A good example of this would probably be part of the Netherworld. There is an area I was told about that is completely devoid of spirits due to the continual existence of demons."_

The young man nodded, frowning as he added, "Well, I know that you will figure it out. You always do. I'm just shocked to hear that the essence of the armor's powers stems from some sort of link. If this is true, it implies some amazing things, doesn't it."

"I don't know about amazing, but I am worried about it. If what Lenaira said is true, then it means that the absence of the spirits could cause the armors to have some serious issues. But...there is still so much that she hasn't told us that we are missing links," Mia sighed, closing her eyes.

"Mm...like why the demons were chasing _her,_ I take it?"

"Nn. I actually feel sorry for her. How long _has_ that girl been on the run?"

Ryo paused, his grip on Mia's hand gentle. The woman looked up at him and hesitated before slowly pulling her hand away, the lingering touch going on perhaps a bit too long. She looked away from the man to quickly focus her gaze on the fire while Ryo's eyes darted to the window, his hand settling on the back of the chair. Neither said anything for a moment before a thought occurred to her. She quickly looked up.

"Ryo?"

"Yes?"

Mia frowned a bit before she said, "She mentioned the Netherworld. So maybe..."

Ryo sighed, "Looks like we need to get a hold of Kayura."

"I think so, Ryo. I think so."

"Well, I'll go talk to Sage. We might be able to give it a shot later, though I suggest it's out of Lenaira's earshot."

"I agree with that," Mia smiled.

"Then I'm off to see what I can set up. Don't worry, Mia," Ryo reached down to pat the woman's shoulder as he spoke, "We'll figure it out."

With a wink, he left the room, leaving behind a much bewildered woman who was holding her hand against her chest. She began trying very hard not to think indeed.

* * *

The day was, fortunately, sunny and Lenaira found herself sprawled for a moment on the bench on the porch. Oh, she had tried to take off the moment she had a chance, but it seemed that like every cliché damsel in distress, she had to acquire the most infuriating thing in existence which gave these people an excuse to keep her here. She came down with a fever and was suddenly an invalid.

Furthermore, with the fever in mind, everywhere she went, one of those men popped up. It was rather irritating to say the least, and the dynamic wasn't anything more than them wanting to try to help her. She wasn't sure why she was so uncomfortable when they were being so nice. It was more that she would have had less of an issue if they had actually attacked her.

Instead they were trying to see to her wounds, make sure she had things to eat and that she at least was comfortable while healing. They were doing the same for Arrow and had taken her stories seriously. Not that she had lied to them, but wasn't it common in most cultures to immediately doubt the incredulous?

The girl no longer had a clue. As it was now, she was just waking up from the short nap she had been lulled into to find that she had been covered with a blanket and her head now rested upon a pillow that hadn't been there when she had fallen asleep. She just turned to stare at it for a moment, not quite able to compute why it was there behind her.

"It's a pillow."

She jumped, whirling around to stare, wide-eyed, at the man who spoke. A moment's recollection caused her to recall that this fair-haired man was named Cye, and he currently was looking at her with what she'd have to claim was the most sheepish look she had seen on a man's face.

"Sorry."

"No, it's fine, really. I should be more aware," Lenaira said lightly, reaching up to rub her forehead ruefully.

"Here, drink this," the young man said, handing the girl the cup of tea in his hands, "It's a remedy for many colds, or so I'm told. It should help you."

Lenaira blinked, staring at Cye before she asked, "Did you make this? For..me?"

"Actually, no," Cye grinned, "It was Sage. But..he tends to have an issue around women and asked me to bring it. He was the one who said it was a home remedy and was hoping you'd try it."

An image of the blond's face flashed into Lenaira's mind, matching the image with the name rather quickly. It caused her to frown, lowering her gaze to the cup within her hands. "Why are you people helping me? I could be an enemy."

Cye blinked. He hadn't expected this conversation from someone, but he supposed he should have. No one really could afford to take things for granted in the world he lived in, after all. It took him a moment to find the words he wanted to say before he said, "Because we don't believe you are.

"You don't trust me."

"You don't trust us," Cye said, his voice gentle before he smiled. The young girl grimaced again and Cye took it as a sign to continue, "You're just like us in a way. Fighting to do what you feel is right with a world against you. Besides, you know of the armors, yes?"

Lenaira nodded, her messy hair flipping lightly against her face. "Yes?"

"Well, then you would know that each is guided by a certain virtue?"

"Yes. Those were instilled at the same time as the spiritual guardians. It helped mortal kind utilize the armor and not be overpowered by it. Well...in all cases of this example, I suppose, spirit and virtues."

"Well, mine is the virtue of Trust," Cye said. He smiled as the girl flashed him a glance, causing him to say sheepishly, "I can tell when someone is lying or not, easily through it. Sage is good with it intuitively due to his senses, but I'd say considering neither of us see anything not to trust in you...well...we're going to do our best to help you. Something in this tells me that helping you is going to help us in the long run anyways."

Lenaira stared at him for a moment, an incredulous look upon her face. This young man was kind and it was evidenced in everything he did. How could one so kind be so strong? He sympathized. She could tell. More so, his shy friend had thought to make her the cup of tea and didn't distrust her either.

"Well, you drink that and I'll check on you in a bit." With that, the kindly young man disappeared back into the house, leaving the dumbfounded woman to her thoughts.

Oddly, it left her with that feeling of hope again. Something was beginning to burn in her chest, something that was like a feast to the starved. For the first time in a while, these gentlemen and the lady were making her feel safe. So she lifted the mug of tea to her lips and began to sip at it, believing it was probably the least she could do.

A rustle in the bushes nearby didn't catch the woman's attention, but it did work to alert the hound at her feet. The large dog lifted his head to stare at them for a bit, assessing whatever he felt was there before huffed. Whatever it was, it was long gone by now.

-.-.-.-

* * *

Panting in glee, Gamul found himself leaping and hobbling towards the clearing where the hound that was providing him a ride between the worlds was waiting him. The rush was unavoidable. The quicker he got back to his Master, the sooner he could explain what he had seen and the benefits thereof. As he mounted the grotesque hound that closely resembled the Seekers in nature, he grinned his toothy, terrible grin.

Lifting a mirror from the pouch at his side, the goblin concentrated on it before he said, "Master."

The mirror swirled, smokey colors within it mixing before they cleared, revealing the handsome face of Gamul's master.

"What is it, Gamul?"

"Master! I have good news," The goblin grinned again, clearly pleased, "You will be most happy with your Gamul."

The reflection raised an eyebrow, tilting his head as though resting it against a hand that Gamul couldn't see. "And what would that be, Gamul?"

"I have found the girl. I have! She does not seem to have the spiritsies around her, but she looks the same!"

"Indeed? And does she have the gem?"

"Um..I do..not know, Master..." The goblin winced as the man on the other side of the mirror yelled, "Then how do you know it is her?"

"B-because Master! She has that awful houndsie with her," Gamul trembled before the mirror, cowering as though the blond headed man stood before him instead of worlds away. Apparently he had said the proper thing, however, because the blond sat back again and smirked, "Ahh...that infernal Arrow, yes?"

The goblin nodded.

"Good. Well, that means she must have hidden the jewel that we need. That's fine, we can force her to tell us. I have..wonderful plans as to how..."

"Master does make the best plans."

"I know I do. Retrieve the girl, bring her here. I want what's mine back. You can destroy anything in your way,," The cruel voice sounded positively delighted from the other side of the mirror. Gamul nodded, "Y-yessir. Right away, Master."

"And Gamul?"

"Y-yes?"

"Don't mess this up."

Gamul hung his head as the mirror cleared and returned to normal, the 'call' over. He was glad that his Master was pleased. Very glad!

But he couldn't help the surge of pity he felt for the girl he was going to take and those surrounding her. His Master could be so very cruel.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

* * *

A quiet afternoon spent practicing katas happened to just be what the doctor ordered, at least where Sage was concerned. The insanity of the last few days left little time for composure, and certainly hadn't had the moments needed for the ever necessary rounds of meditation. However, the feeling of something coming had risen inside of the young man.

If he were a dog, his hackles would have been raised, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. Shaking his head, he swung the sword in his fingers once more before the rustling of the nearby bushes caught his attention.

Violet eyes shifted to stare as his keen hearing picked up a sound he hadn't expected to hear as some pungent odor wafted to his nose.

Growling and the dripping hiss of acidic breath. The cracking of a branch. And that was all the warning the young man had...

* * *

_Whelp! That's what I've got so far. I had intended to write more, but I suppose a cliff hanger isn't all that bad, now is it? Anyways, I'm working hard between the stories and my job, so don't be surprised if this is a bit slow to come out still. _

_Take care and in good health,_

_Silverarte_


	5. A Shot in the Dark

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Ronin Warrior series. I do, however, own the characters like Lenaira and Arrow etc, as they are my own Original characters created specifically for this story._

Insanity's Requiem

Chapter 4: A Shot in the Dark

by Silverarte

As though thunder had erupted through the area, Sage had only a moment's notice to raise his blade towards the bushes before the first of the grotesque creatures made their appearance. Their snarling faces bore a vague resemblance to hounds, and appeared to stand upon four legs, but that was where the similarities ended. Rippling muscles, dark blue skin that could almost be fur and fangs of the sort that would be expected upon a saber tooth were amongst the most normal of the features. Red eyes, large and oversized heads just seemed to complete the creatures.

Sage thought he felt his heart fall through where to his stomach was. Shoving the first of the five creatures off his weapon, the handsome young man stared in horror, unsure if he could believe what he was seeing. His eyes and common sense were telling him that these creatures were not of this world. It was also evident that these things were not there for a lovely chat or to talk over differences.

_At least they found me and not Cye or Mia..._

The warrior allowed himself that moment's thought before he felt another of these creatures pound him in the back, their hot saliva hissing as it landed upon his under gear.

His eyes widened. _Of course. Their saliva WOULD be acidic..._

With another thrust of his sword, he called out, his deep voice causing the word 'Ha!' to resound through the area before he felt another sharp pain at his leg where the hound on his right managed to get through his defenses.

Just in time for the sounds of screams to be heard on the other side of the house...

* * *

Rowen was laying on the sofa in the living room of Mia's house, a book in hand with a pen in the other. He had long since began working to try to help Mia sort out the loads of information that she had brought in to try to figure out what was going on and the information that Lenaira had given them had landed like a load of bricks within their laps. No one could be expected to keep up the way they needed to, thus leaving Rowen to try to pick up the slack.

He grunted, shifting about as the handles on his feet clanged. It caused him to frown. All of them had once again taken to wearing the armor at all times in this matter, under their clothing or not. The inconvenience of it didn't overshadow the fact that they needed it. It was simply a matter of statistical probabilities, and when compared, they made the answer easy to see as to what they had to do.

In and of itself, a simple solution to a larger problem. Rowen couldn't say he necessarily disapproved of it.

Nearby, Kento could be seen dozing on the other sofa in the room. The fortunate thing about Mia's house was the size, and in essence, the boys took what rest they could whenever they could. The way the Chinese man was laying sprawled was enough for Rowen to chuckle in amusement and shake his head at the relative silence.

Taking a moment to enjoy themselves, the sound of crashing glass from upstairs caused both Rowen and Kento to jolt upright immediately, their trained senses automatically alert. Well...almost.

"W-what? Rowen, stay away from that damned candy!"

Rowen frowned, "Kento, get your lazy bum off that sofa. It's not me!"

Kento blinked at the blue-haired man before whirling upright, with a nod. Rowen nodded to himself. Well, at least he was responsive.

Together, both of the men ran upstairs to see what had happened. There, upon the floor was the crumpled body of a bluish-furred canine, causing Kento to wretch and Rowen to look a little ill. The breezy air from within the bedroom they had ran into, however, caused Kento to quickly lean towards the window before his eyes widened, catching sight of the green-armored man who was fighting off what seemed to be several of those grotesque things.

"Sage!"

With that, Kento was through the window and Rowen not far behind, calling on their armors as they went as the echo of the scream from the other side of the house resounded through the yard.

* * *

Ryo was pacing. Many things of late hadn't been going right for the young man, and it led to him trying to contemplate and figure it out within the relatively private confines of the waterfall near to the house while his oversized tiger lay in the shadows of a tree, staring at the warrior intently with his blue eyes.

"I don't know, White Blaze...I can't get all of this jumble out of my head. Is that strange...?"

The tiger growled.

"Oh don't start that."

The tiger repeated his response, this time with an irritated thump of his tail on the ground, earning him a glance from the tiger-eyed youth.

"Alright. First are these demons. From what was described and what we saw before Lenaira arrived, we have a one in two chance of even hitting them. I need to lead the others through this again, but we don't have enough information." Ryo ran a hand through his hair irritatedly, but the action earned him another thump of the tail from the white beast, causing him to sigh.

"I know Rowen and Mia are working their hardest. I'm not discounting that, but how do you protect against what you don't know?" The young man asked before he frowned again, stopping his pacing before he glanced down at his subarmour. "Sometimes you need answers you don't have. I am supposed to have them. I can't expect Mia to continually work herself to the bone. She's barely eating as it is, or drinking what Cye brings her. Her mountain of books grows by the day and that old computer is of no help either...I wish I could help her more."

White Blaze growled again, standing up and staring at the young man once more. The message was obvious, and Ryo sighed again, looking at the feline dejectedly. How did White Blaze just always know? "Caught me...eh? Well, this is a problem, old friend."

The tiger, about to respond to his friend, quickly lifted his head towards the bushes and growled, his tail curling and ears flattening against his head. The automatically aggressive stance caused Ryo to turn in kind, crouching and readying himself for a fight. "White Blaze, what is it?"

The roar of the massive feline was the only warning Ryo received, for as White Blaze lunged towards the bush, out launched several grotesque hounds with blue fur and acidic breath. It was all Ryo could do to ready himself for a fight as the tiger attempted to launch the first on into the air and out of the way as a scream could be heard from the house but a little ways back.

To anyone else, it might have been nondescript, but the sound Ryo heard was one he had never wanted to hear again. As though erupting from his vocal cords, he could only shout out a single word as he fought to defend himself from the hounds.

"MIA!"

Oh by the gods, let her and anyone else around her be alright.

* * *

Lenaira had drank the entirety of the tea that had been handed to her earlier and began dozing upon the bench she was lying on when Mia had found her way towards the young woman. Curiosity combined with the level of exhaustion she felt from looking over endless rounds of text books had at last lured the scholar to speak with the most recent source of everyone's curiosity.

Clinging to the notepad which seemed to be the most consistent piece of her outfit nowadays, Mia made her way towards the bench, tugging idly on her jeans and blazer before she blinked and smiled. There was Cye, picking up the mug that had been set neatly on the ground by the dozing woman. The young man turned and winked at Mia, a cheerful expression on his face that caused the older woman to smile in reply.

The younger man approached Mia and said, "I guess she fell asleep right after she drank the tea. Sage was right about it."

Mia's lips quirked. "Well, with the stuff that Sage puts together when someone is sick, I can hardly blame her or anyone else for their reactions thereof."

Cye merely grinned. Having someone to take care of was the best distraction anyone could ask for, particularly if the person asking was someone like Cye himself. He hated war and violence. He felt exhaustion and the trying times more than the others. Perhaps that was why he was always around the corner with food or tea in hand, trying to take care of everyone he could.

It was a reminder that normal things still had to happen, but more so, it helped him to remember that he too was needed by others.

Mia turned her eyes to look at the girl whose hand was resting softly on the head of the canine at her side and shrugged. "I suppose I can ask her what I wanted to later."

"Ask what?" Cye tilted his head, his brown locks flippantly shifting about his face as though to point out how boyish he appeared at that moment.

Mia ran a hand through her hair. "Well, I wanted to ask more about the demons. We should learn about them, and if she could point out anything about it...well..The types would be the best. We only have what we've seen over the last month and Kayura has been scarce."

The youth nodded, pursing his lips. Mia had a point, after all. The Warlords and their leader had been scarce, making it entirely difficult to attempt to come up with solutions to the problems at hand. He was getting worried, but word had swept about the Ronins, and they knew an attempt to contact Kayura would be made later that evening.

About to speak, a growl from the canine caused both Cye and Mia to turn their gaze towards him. Raising his hands, Cye began to speak, "Now now, Arrow..right? Calm yo-ACK!"

With that, the canine was in action, rushing towards the open area beyond the porch with a loud howl as he clashed with the blueish canine that was facing off with him. The sound caused Lenaira to stir, lifting her head with a frown, "Nn...Arrow..?"

Cye, however, had no hesitation in his actions. With a lunge, he began rushing towards the obvious demon, shouting out, "Mia! Get with Lenaira and get somewhere safe!"

"Right!" With that, Mia was in motion, tugging on Lenaira's arm to pull her into the house, "Come on, Lenaira. We need to move.._NOW_!"

"H-huh...Oh god..!" Lenaira was up at last, having caught sight of the demons that Cye was now fighting with. Her eyes widened before she began to follow Mia before she gasped out, "Mia!"

Mia whirled about just in time for a demon to leap at her from over the fence of the porch. She began to move, but she wouldn't be fast enough. She knew it! Clenching her eyes shut, the woman began to ready herself for impact, all within the span of a few seconds when the impact into her side caused her to scream out in shock, surprise and pain.

Two hard bodies fell off the porch onto the ground, narrowly dodging the canine. Her vision was clouded for a moment, but when Mia could shake it off, her eyes widened. Above her lay Lenaira, sprawled and dazed, evidently the one who had pushed her out of the way. Attempting to shift, Mia winced. The pain in her arm boded bad things, but the sounds of battle caught Mia's attention to watch how Cye was doing. With a frown, she saw the young man having problems. He'd probably have to call his armor soon, and with a howl, the fierce Arrow was on the canine that had attacked them both.

"Mi? You both ok?" Cye cried out, grunting as he blocked an attack before wincing as the acid dripped onto his subarmor.

"Y-yes. We are!" Lenaira was stirring, lending truth to Mia's words after all.

"Then get out of here! Hurry!"

Mia nodded, grabbing Lenaira's hand as the woman began to stand, yanking her towards the only clear path available to them.

The woods.

The flash of blue light at their backs told Mia that Cye had already summoned his armor and was starting to fight in earnest now that the two of them were out of the way.

...So much for boredom...

Mia winced as Lenaira matched her stride for running. They had to make it to the grotto. If she could just keep the girl running, Mia was certain they could make it. The guys would know what to do from there.

* * *

The arrival of Rowen and Kento had made it possible for Sage to armor up as well, and soon the three young men were battling the demons before them with a ferocity that rivaled the forces of a militia.

"Two down!" Kento called out, cheerful despite the damage he was taking from one of those creatures as his weapon went through the second one that he just called out.

Sage felt disgusted by the cheer and pointed out, "Pay attention, Hardrock. We still have more to take down!"

"I know, but we are doing it. We're down to two, right?"

"Right, buddy." Rowen said as he fired an arrow at one of the canines, who narrowly dodged it. The three of them were giving the creatures a run for their money, that was for certain, but Rowen then added, "But don't get cocky. We don't know what these are."

Sage grunted, his sword running the thing through as Rowen fired another arrow. The consecutive shots brought down another as it led to one more standing.

"We need to hurry. There was a scream on the other side of the house!" Sage said urgently, causing the other two to nod and turn on the remaining creature before them.

Ryo and White Blaze had always made a good, quick team, but these demons were giving them a difficult time at doing what the two of them did best. The hissing sound from the saliva alone caused the warrior of Wildfire to cringe, watching as White Blaze narrowly dodged one of the three creatures about them. Their work in battle had paid off in the death of their friend, the body of the fourth canine lying off to the side in a sizzling heap that allowed Ryo little satisfaction.

The sheer adrenaline was pumping through his veins, and each feint he tried to make to get back to the house but was blocked by another of these insidious creatures that just seemed to exist to hurt and frustrate.

"HA!" A slice of his sword and down went the one before him while another fell thanks to White Blaze.

_'Mia...Guys...I hope you are alright!'_

The fiery man stopped at nothing, his strength and desperation shooting through each of his strokes as he fought back the onslaught with only the thought of rescuing the others in mind.

* * *

Cye was sword to sword with another of the creatures. He had been the unlucky one, to be surrounded by seven of them. The way they moved was fluid and hard to focus on. It was like they were trying to visually confuse him while making lunges and attacks that he was fighting to block time and again with his yari in hand. A whirl of his weapon, and he caused the waters to surge from the lake to hit the creatures again as the howl of the canine behind him became louder. One of the hounds fell, leaving behind five as both dog and man took them out.

Arrow was valiant, barking and growling with each of his attacks before he finally roared. Such a sound caught the young man's attention suddenly as an eruption of silvery light encompassed the dog before it blew away like a flippant wind, leaving behind an animal that was no longer dog, but the size of a small horse and wolfish in nature.

"W-what th-..?"

Without paying attention to Cye, this new creature began to attack in earnest, but was distracted just enough for one of the hounds to get behind him. As it lunged in, Cye only had time to turn around with his eyes widening in horror. He couldn't block in time! Bracing himself for impact, he was instead met with the sound of clanging metal and a loud 'Ha!' in reply.

Opening his eyes, Cye found himself never as happy as he he was right then to be staring at the orange back of an all too familiar figure. "Hey Cye. Heard you needed some help!"

Cye grinned a bit. "Yea, man. Thanks."

Kento winked, hauling the hound off his staff just as one yelped, skewered on Sage's sword, who had just arrived right behind Kento.

"Cripes! THAT is a different one!" Rowen shouted, aiming his bow at the transformed Arrow. Cye whirled about, calling out, "Wait Ro! That's not one of them!"

"W-what?"

"That's Arrow. I swear it!" Rowen stared at Cye as though he had grown a second head. Meanwhile, another of the hounds fell to Kento, leaving Sage enough breathing room to stare at the oversized dog in consideration. "It...does kind of look like Lenaira's dog.."

"Just...don't shoot him. I'm sure we'll understand later, but he's helping us!"

The blond sighed, blowing his hair out of his face for a moment before returning to the battle. All four of them focused on the battle, and Cye landed the final blow on the creatures that had originally attacked him. In the end, Arrow landed beside the young men, immediately fading back to his original form with a whimper, as though having seen the bow in Rowen's hands trained upon him.

The young men stared at the dog for a moment, dumbfounded expressions on their faces before Rowen said, "I think more..explanation is in order for later, eh?"

"Seems so!" Kento said cheerfully before turning to look at Cye, "So Cye...screaming like a girl now, are you?"

Cye raised an eyebrow in confusion as Kento shrugged, "Sage said he heard a girl's scream from over here. But obviously it's just you and the dog."

"I did hear it."

Cye frowned a bit before his eyes widened, "Oh no. The girls! I forgot about them. They ran into the forest. We have to hurry, there might be more of those things!"

The other three stared at Cye for a moment before Sage surged for the woods, running as fast as he could with the others not far behind. Regardless of circumstances, leaving them helpless was not the honorable thing to do.

* * *

The pounding, the running, the thumping of the heart...

Why was it always like this?

Lenaira frowned as she followed Mia, doing her best not to slow. Lifting a hand to her lips, she coughed slightly, but she couldn't help but wonder why she was endlessly running. She knew her duties as well as anyone else, but that didn't mean she had to like them.

Mia's grip on Lenaira's hand was cold and tight, the urgency lining the woman's body evident with each panting step she made.

"A little further, Lenaira! We're almost to the grotto!" Mia forced a smile, but it was obvious she was worried. She had reason to, after all. The oppressive feel of demons was permeating the area, but could this woman really feel that? Lenaira wasn't sure. What she was sure of, however, was that this woman was one who wasn't going to give up without a fight.

For Mia, Lenaira was growing to have only the absolute in respect for. This woman never stopped, and it showed and caused Lenaira to respond in kind. As Mia urged, the girl took longer strides, fighting to keep up. There was no time to think of 'whys' when they had to keep moving.

"If we..get there, the guys will know where to find us! Come on!"

And Lenaira obeyed.

Mia was gratified that the girl followed along like she wanted. It wasn't anything more than a mutual trust placed within each other for the time being, but it bolstered the older woman enough to fight to get to where they were with the knowledge that not far from where they were was the hopefully safe haven the guys had built for cases like these.

As the women ran, the thudding of their feet soon seemed to be echoed by the panting of creatures nearby but as of yet unseen. Panic was residing deep in their heaving chests, causing Lenaira to grip at her chest with her free hand while Mia merely pushed onwards harder. They were approaching a clearing up ahead, and it seemed to cause Mia to find a little bit of extra energy to run.

"It's there! Hurry!"

The snarls and hissing sounds behind them were growing too close, and as the women pounded into the grotto, Mia made a straight line towards a circle of rocks that seemed to have been placed to some spiritual purpose. The familiarity nagged at the back of Lenaira's mind. Meanwhile, Mia was searching for some sort of trigger to the entire thing.

"...Mia..?"

"I know it's here somewhere. Hold on, Lenaira. I almost have it!"

"Mia! Those hounds found us!"

And it was truth indeed, for as Mia looked over her shoulder, she gasped, her eyes widening at the sight of the four hounds and a hobbled little creature that appeared somewhat like a goblin riding atop a fifth behind the four.

"Ahhh...I founded you, Spirit girl!" Lenaira frowned as the goblin bobbed from atop his mount, "You'll comes with us, yes? Yes you will!"

"No!" Lenaira cried out, backing up against the tree. How had this thing found her so quickly? "I will be going nowhere!"

Odd how it was that one could feel so brave when running for a cause, but suddenly when confronted with the convictions to defend something to the end, be filled with such fear. Lenaira couldn't place why, but here with Mia as she was, she felt it. She was filled with it, an immobilizing sort that chilled her to the bone. She had been so ready to die when she handed the gem to Kayura...so why was it now that she no longer wanted to?

Mia had the presence of mind to slip behind Lenaira in the meantime, using the girl's posture as a shield while she searched for whatever it was she was searching for.

"Oh no, you will be comings with us! Your little friend of course can't, but that's because my master would be angry with me if I did brings her." The goblin once again bobbed, grinning toothily in a manner that caused Lenaira to finally cry out, "I refuse to come with you, Gaul!"

The goblin blinked and frowned, sighing. A taking noise emitted from his throat and he said, "Oh, well that's too bad. You don't have a choicey at all! I only have to bring you in alives, not unharmed!"

_We will protect you, Lenaira! We are here! _They sounded like...

With that, he waved at the hounds who finally attacked. The lunging of the hounds, the hissing of their acidic breath-something stirred inside of Lenaira. She was frozen and yet not. Something in her reacted and she raised her hands, crying out in protest as Mia shouted out in dismay. The older woman began yanking Lenaira back towards one of the rocks, readying to use it as a shield if necessary.

_We aren't Zakei...but we will help!_

The glimmer of a brown wing and green hair was the only thing Lenaira saw before she felt the surge.

Deep within her welled something she couldn't quite place. Everything was too distracting, too new, and as the power began to trickle over into something more than it should have been, her hands flew up as though to greet the oncoming enemies.

Sparkling energy surged from her fingertips that automatically rushed to make a seal, the tops of her fingers pressed together as though she were a monk of some sort. Suddenly the new energy that was flowing through her began bounding off the rock formations in the area, forming a miniature barrier around the two women. The first of the canines hit the barrier smack head-on before being repelled , yelping just in time for the voice that gave Mia the greatest relief she could have hoped for.

"FLARE UP NOW!"

The waves of fire, hotter than an inferno straight from the volcano, shot towards the canines and goblins, enveloping them. As a dark figure near the back looking suspiciously like the goblin ran away under the distractions this new development caused, the hounds were left as cinders upon the ground. Behind the flames stood the one form Mia had hoped to see above all others from between those rocks before her.

"Ryo!"

The dark haired man grinned at her, clearly relieved at seeing the woman before he sheathed his swords and approached the circle.

"Hey Mi, causing trouble I see? And ho, what's this?" The man tapped the barrier with a finger, his red armor pinging lightly upon it as Mia ran towards where he was.

"Oi! Ryo! Mia!"

The sounds of their friends caused the two to lift their heads in relief as the other four warriors began to arrive. As they chattered quickly about what was going on, the excitement in their voices giving way towards exhaustion, Sage glanced at Lenaira.

A barrier? What was this, some sort of bad anime starring Mikos?

Regardless, he began to approach the girl. No one had thought to tell her to stop, and that's usually what priests and priestesses needed during ceremonies anyways.

* * *

_We've done all we can, Guardian. We can give you no more..._

Well, that was ok. Mia was safe, right? Wildfire was over there, so she didn't really need them anymore, right?

The green forms flitted as though giggling before Lenaira's eyes as they quickly dispersed to the trees, their playful voices tired and their ethereal bodies clearer than before with their expenditure of energy.

'Well..if everyone is ok...I guess that's fine,' Lenaira thought, lowering her hands as she stared blankly at the ground. She didn't even notice when the others arrived at Ryo's side, chattering worriedly about what had just happened. A thought of relief flit across her mind before she lowered her hands, the barrier instantly disappearing.

'Thank you, spirits of the trees...'

Suddenly, she swayed. Her mind went blank and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She was out long before she hit the ground and never felt the green armoured arms that caught her.

* * *

_Author's Note: Well, that ends this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. It took me a while because I had to start it over several times, and what with interviews and work, I just had to watch myself from being overloaded. _

_As a question though! Those of you who are reading this, would you like to see some illustrations for this story? I began thinking on it recently and realized that it might be a lot of fun to give it a shot. _

_Let me know what you think of the idea and the story so far! The comments I got from the last chapter bolstered me to try even harder this round. I'd love to hear from you. :)It's been fantastic hearing from the older voices of people I knew from eons ago!_

_Silver_


	6. Aftermath and Communications

_Disclaimer: I do not own the ever wonderful Ronin Warriors/Samurai Troopers, though I believe I like everyone else wish I did! I do however own Lenaira, Arrow and the other original characters and this story. _

**Insanity's Requiem**

**Chapter 5: Aftermath and Communications**

By Silverarte

Time seemed to pass quickly, and yet not at all. The fervor of the recent battle that had ended but a mere hour ago seemed to still beat within the tired blood of the warriors that had fought so ever fiercely for victory. While the others had headed back to the house, Rowen found himself staring up about the grotto, attempting to understand what had just happened. The theory of logic behind what they had witnessed and been told had been defied.

So why...?

The grotto, as they all called it, had been a place built based upon the combined research of Kayura and himself when the team had realized a need for a place where anyone dependent upon the Warriors could be safely without worry of discovery or the creation of an impediment to their battle. The last time they had to defend Mia and Yuli, it resulted in their utilizing the powers of the armors themselves, separating the power from its user in a manner that had ended catastrophically for the Ronins.

Thus, when peace had finally settled and the ever restless Rowen was considering what had happened, he realized that perhaps they needed to build something like this. Based on the teachings of the Ancient clan, the stones that were placed in a circle in the open grove were used as a spiritual catalyst, triggered by a specific lever that they had infused with the energy of the armors and spirits. This place was meant to be able to do what the armors did, in that when activated, they created a near impenetrable shield. Admittedly it wasn't as good as the armors were, he had tested it after all, but it was good enough to serve the purpose until one of them got there.

It was an ingenious idea taken from years of knowledge combined with the research Mia had in multitudes within her office. In fact, he and Kayura had been incredibly proud of it. Why shouldn't they be? This meant that Mia could find refuge, and Kento had spent the summer helping to build a tunnel to this place from Mia's house just to ensure that she could get to it if needed. The woman even knew which lever to pull to activate it. Rowen had made sure of that, for he had it hidden in the rock to look natural regardless of circumstance.

However...

This time, it had activated without the pulling of that lever. He could see that himself as he inspected it. No, that barrier had been generated by an outside source that utilized the stones in the same manner. More so, this area had not been compromised by any damage from weather.

Rowen's hand clutched the bow in his hand tighter, his lips pressed into a tight line. His eyes were bright as his mind worked close to overtime, his head tilted just slightly so that he could see around that lock of hair that was always in his face. He finally just shook his head before he began the walk back to the manor with only one question on his mind.

_'How did Lenaira manage to summon that barrier...?'_

**XXX**

Silence was the sound that permeated Mia's house as the sun outside began setting, heralding the darkness of the night sky. Nursing everyone's wounds showed that things weren't as bad off as they could have been, as Mia's was the worst with a broken arm that was now set in a sling and awaiting Sage's attention. The others had scratches, cuts and bruises with the occasional acidic burn mark marring their skins. Rowen and Cye had probably fared the best, but Sage had a rather nasty looking burn on his arm while Ryo sported another on his face where his face guard hadn't fully blocked the attack.

In short, they had been lucky.

Lenaira was set upon the sofa and hadn't stirred since they had gotten back.

"Well, that was definitely not a good fight to have. All of us ambushed at once means they definitely know who and now what we are," Ryo said, closing his eyes as he leaned back in his chair.

Kento smirked, his ever present humor unable to be kept down for long," Well buddy, that's obvious. But doesn't half the Netherworld know that too? I doubt that would have been kept secret for long."

A stern look was flashed Kento's way, but the man merely shrugged, grinning a bit. "What? It's true!"

"We know it is, but that doesn't mean these things are coming from there. We had the element of surprise so long as they weren't sure of us. Fortunately, only one of us used a sure-kill, so we should be alright," Sage said quietly as he worked to wrap Kento's leg. As the stockier man moved to begin getting up, the blond merely adjusted one of the bandages, causing the Chinese to yelp and fall back, flashing a glare at the solemn man in green.

Sage was unperturbed, acting as though nothing had happened in the efforts to silent the ridiculous man he was bandaging. With a pat on his knee, the young man stood and took his seat in a chair near the sofa, running his hand along his face quietly. Moments of silence passed by before Sage finally said, "We were lucky."

Ryo grimaced. Sage was absolutely correct. They had been lucky. Mia had managed to get the two of them to the grotto in time, but if it hadn't been for that unorthodox barrier, the both of them would have been goners with the only ones to blame being those who were sitting in the room. He should have known better than to leave the area. It always happened when he did this! The young man lifted his fist and pounded it softly into the arm of the chair, his fingers digging into the armrest as it landed. He had no excuse and could offer no reply. However, as though knowing what was on Ryo's mind, White Blaze lifted his massive head and nudged the Wildfire's bearer in the arm, causing the young man to glance at the beast.

There when their eyes met was a level of knowing he couldn't quite explain. That tiger was wise. How he always knew when no one else did was beyond him, but the look there told him 'Don't blame yourself'. His lips began to twist in a frown when Mia's eyes lifted to meet Ryo's as well, her gentle gaze seeming to say the same as the tiger's. He felt a knot that he hadn't known in his chest unravel, leaving him free to breathe once more before his apologetic eyes stayed with hers. It was then that Mia took opportunity to speak, her soft voice rising above the noises that the various gentlemen were making at the time.

"Don't beat yourselves up. This is no worse than when you were fighting against Talpa. If I recall then we had quite a few close calls and bad mistakes, right?" Mia asked, her eyes shifting to look at each of the young men around her before focusing on Ryo's eyes once more. "We got out of it then and figured it out. We will do the same here. Beating ourselves up for what could have been is pointless, don't you agree?"

Ryo ducked his head, but the look on Cye's face slowly spread into a soft smile. Sage's expression was accepting while Kento merely grinned. Mia always seemed to know what to say. It went without saying that they probably wouldn't have managed to work together as they had without this very same woman at their side, keeping their spirits up and forever rooting for them in an unconditional manner. Ryo's hand brushed White Blaze's head once more before he tilted his head up to glance at the others.

They were a family, and he supposed this was what it meant to be in it. Thank the gods themselves for Mia.

"We need more information," Ryo finally spoke up, rising to the occasion of being a leader once more. Reaching up to run idle fingers through his wild black locks, he added, "We didn't know what we were up against and Sage is right, we were lucky. No matter what happened, we clearly need to be ready for the next step."

Sage nodded but Cye spoke up, "What is the next step, Ryo? Do any of us really know?"

"Contacting Kayura and getting information out of this one, I think," Kento said, a grin on his lips as he jerked his thumb at Lenaira who lay unsuspecting nearby. "Information we need? Well, she seems to have it if she knew what that little creature Mia described was called. Besides, her dog is crazy anyways a-"

A rumble of a growl from the hearth caught Kento's attention as his eyes shifted to meet those of the oversized dog. The deadlock of a stare had the young man swallowing while a faint chuckle rouse about in the room. Cye grinned, "Be polite, Kento. Arrow helped."

The rumble of that growl was echoed by the white tiger, causing the young man in orange to swallow before the canine began to approach Kento, his intelligent, amber eyes pinned on the young man. Kento quickly said, "Yes Cye, I know. I well..that is..."

Arrow merely approached the man before he sniffed him, made a guttural sound in his throat as though laughing and shook his head, flopping at Kento's feat like any regular dog would do. The clueless young man stared at the dog before he glanced at his friends. The soft chuckles told him all he needed to know about their opinions on the matter, leaving Kento to squirm and murmur, "See..? Crazy."

And that was when everyone laughed together for the first time in what seemed like a long while.

**XXX**

Several hours had passed, leaving the idle time spent to complete the tasks needed before the warriors could contact Kayura. A mirror had been positioned in the middle of the living room, surrounded by a variety of small candles in a ritualistic manner that told of a well planned attempt in positioning. The furniture had been moved back away from what had been placed out, much to Mia's chagrin. But the logic of doing what they were indoors overrode making it outside like they had originally planned. After all, they wouldn't be able to keep up what they were doing if an attack happened or the wind blew too fiercely. And so the woman acquiesced, allowing her boys to set up what they would and position the implements necessary to contact the woman.

"This is so inconvenient you know..." Sage muttered as he finally sat back, running his hand through his hair.

"Yes, but it's not like a cell phone is going to reach her from where we are. We could normally use the mirror regularly, but you said that we needed it to be as secure as possible you know," Rowen grinned, looking at Sage. He had come back from his research with no answers, but on hearing the plan the others had, had pulled up the old information Kayura had given them to make sure no one could interfere with the conversation. This was, after all, the only time they could do it. The night time heralded many things, but it allowed for this to take place.

The blond sighed, but a hand reached down to grip his shoulder. "It's alright, Sage. We should take the precautions. Besides, Cye and Kento are looking after the girls, so this shouldn't be all that bad, now should it?"

Ryo smiled encouragingly at the blond before he sat down beside him, his eyes trained on the mirror, "Though you are right. This really is terribly inconvenient. We have to wait for the light of the moon or sun to hit the mirror just right to activate it in normal circumstances even without all this...it really is a pain. I wonder why it's like that..."

"Probably because Kayura doesn't want anyone bothering her?" Rowen's lips quirked before he looked at the window, "but jokes aside, heads up. It's time."

With that, the three of them got situated and activated the mirror as requested. Within moments, a familiar face appeared on the other end. Her black hair framed her face and her hair ornaments looked just as they always had. Clearly she had been in the middle of prayer and appeared a bit irritated before she saw who was contacting her.

"Hello Ronins, what can I do for you?"

It was time for a conversation with the Ancient once again.

"Well Kayura, there are several problems and we need to talk."

"Alright, I'm all ears."

**XXX**

The quiet of the evening was deceptive, or so Mia thought. This was war time after all, and she supposed that this feeling was the sort every soldier felt. The antsy energy in every limb could only be attributed to the flight or fight sequences inherent in every animal upon the earth, but why did it have to be such a pain to go through in the meantime?

The woman couldn't say. As it was, she was taking a turn watching over Lenaira while Cye had gone to go get some food prepared for everyone, who was now dozing upon the bed in her room. Mia supposed it was applicable to call it the girl's by this point, considering how much time she spent unconscious recently. However, it really was quite remarkable that she found herself trusting the unknown woman as much as she had. That is, she trusted her enough to let her sleep in the same house as the guys. After all, she wouldn't be giving out her bank information to the girl any time soon!

A book lay flat in her lap at the moment, the pen in her fingers tapping its pages lightly as she raised her eyes to meet Kento's, who sat beside the window on the other side of the rather large room. The warrior was serious for once, leaning against the wall quietly while contemplating the events of that day. Something on everyone's mind, no doubt.

But for Kento, this something was in need of review in his mind. For all of his boastful behavior, he knew full well that the only way to defeat an enemy was by learning what you could and going from there. And so, distracted as he was, the man was helping Mia go over the details of the battle so she could write them in the book she had.

"...Alright, so they were bluish, spit acid and fought in packs..right?" Mia asked, looking down once more to jot a few more notes on her paper in a shorthand that revealed her experience within the college.

"Mm. If what everyone said is correct, that seems to be the case, Mi. Everyone was hit with more than one," Kento said, idly.

Mia frowned and nodded, "At least it's something in common. I'll take what I can from this. But what in the world could they have been...? This might be enough information to locate them in a book, but I've never seen anything like them before."

Kento was about to speak when the young woman lying prone on the bed interrupted him in a soft voice, as though almost afraid to be heard. "They were 'Hunters'. On earth...I believe the common name is Demon Hound..."

Kento jumped, turning around to stare at Lenaira with widened eyes. Mia followed his gaze. Just when had she woken up, anyways? It couldn't have been long.

Lenaira's eyes were glassy, the sort that one sees when someone just wakes up. Her hand was curled at the side of her face while her other clutched at the blanket laying over her. Turning her head, she looked up at Mia and nodded. "They do hunt in packs, and rip things apart. They operate like earth wolves, from what I've been taught, and are often used when trying to bring something to heel."

With that, the young woman yawned, covering her mouth with one of her hands.

"Is there an easy way to defeat them?" Mia asked, causing Lenaira to frown. The young woman started sitting up, rubbing lifting her hand from the blankets to rub her achy head.

"Mm...can you ask me that when I'm a little more awake? I feel like I was hit with a bus. I have no idea why eithe-" Lenaira's voice trailed off as her eyes widened. No, wait...she knew. The presence of those tree spirits were enough to stick in her mind. She quickly made an effort to cover up her mistake. "Er...is everyone alright?"

"Everyone is fine," Mia smiled, tilting her head unconsciously. If anything, the normalcy of the motion was enough to set Lenaira at ease, causing the girl to smile tentatively at the woman in response. Kento grinned, "Yea, girl. Everyone is fine. A bit bruised, but you think the Ronin Warriors are going to go down that easily? I believe you need to check your knowledge again if that's the case. We're going to prove you wrong again and again. Nothing is going to take us down!"

This caused Lenaira to blink, turning her head slowly to stare at Kento. It was odd, really. For her, the past few days had been nothing but tension and filled with the thought of buying enough time to deal with the demons in a different way than she had been capable. She had been ready to die, thinking it her duty. However, dealing with these men and Mia had begun to change something in her on a level that she couldn't quite perceive. Somehow, these people just radiated hope and belief in a manner that was near unbelievable, and it left her bewildered and somehow empowered. Was this the true ability of these warriors? To take the utmost confidence in what they do and transform it into power?

So as the silence stretched and Kento's boisterous cheer began to die into an awkward silence that revealed that her reaction wasn't the one she expected, she finally smiled softly and smiled in reply to him. Kayura had been right. These were people to believe and believe in.

Her smile was enough to repair the possible damage. Kento beamed and stared proudly up at Mia while Mia smiled back. Somehow the gloom had lifted just a bit, and if Mia knew anything, Kento would take the credit for it. But the cheer couldn't last forever, and Mia had to remain a voice of reason and a drive behind the warriors. Lifting her pad, she patted it softly with her hands before she said, "Lenaira..."

Lenaira's head turned, shifting to look up at Mia curiously. Mia continued, "We need any information you have about what we're up against. We all see it. They are coming and as the guys say, forewarned is forearmed. Will you help us? Will you explain more to us?"

The girl blinked at Mia's words before she dipped her head, looking down at her blanket. Kento began to stand, holding his hands out as though to jump in on Mia's behalf, but Mia raised a hand to the man. The decision had to be Lenaira's to help or not at all. Kento couldn't force it. It was for things like this that Mia was there, after all!

"...Alright." Lenaira said before turning her dark gaze to look up at the older woman. She only wanted to know about the demons after all, right? "I will teach you what I know about the demons, or at least tell you what I can. It's not as much as you might think, but it might be enough to help you and your warriors before something goes sour."

Mia smiled, gripping the girl's shoulder gently. "Thank you, Lenaira. So, shall we begin?"

Kento sat back as the girl nodded, clearly a bit more awake than she was before. As Cye walked in with a tray of tea, Lenaira began speaking while Mia took notes. "First off, besides the hounds, there are Seekers, similar in most ways to the Hunters but..."

That was how the descriptions began. Cye set the tea out as the others in the room settled themselves in. This was a conversation that could probably take a while.

**XXX**

"You have...WHAAAT?" Kayura shouted at the mirror before her, her eyes widening. Her reaction caused Dais to walk into the room in surprise, ducking his head about the opening of the doorway in concern before he realized it was the Ancient's reaction to whatever she had heard.

"No joke, Kayura. We've been attacked by demons several times, but the other night Sage ran into a girl that was getting chased down by a few. He saved her, but as I told you, that's how everything has been so far. She's thus far generated a barrier, but..." Ryo said, his voice sounding somewhat filtered and filled with echoes as it projected itself across the distance through the magic mirror.

Kayura frowned, but raised an eyebrow at the young man. "Long brown hair, brown eyes? Does she have a dog of some sort with her?"

Dais blinked at Kayura's back. Could it be...?

Ryo nodded, "I take it you know who she is?"

"More than know. From what you've told me she's said to you, she hasn't lied to you in the slightest. I'm surprised she hasn't tried to run away on you at this point," Kayura began when the sound of a snicker on the other side caused her to frown. "Alright Rowen, what is it?"

Rowen's blue haired face tilted into view with his cheeky grin as he said, "That's probably because the girl's been sick. Sage subjected her to some of his herbal concoctions and if it's anything like what happens to us, she probably couldn't move for a while."

Kayura quickly lifted an arm over her lips, grateful that the long kimono could cover the growing smile at the sound of the thwack and polite cough that caused Rowen to jump and protest. Sage's retaliation had been swift indeed. Her amusement aside, however, she had to call attention back to the mirror.

"Ronins..."

Ryo and Rowen returned their gazes to the mirror. Kayura continued, "The time I have grows short, but rest assured, I and the Warlords will be there tomorrow. It's clear that it's time for discussion, and things are going to progress at a quick rate. As far as that girl goes..."

Rowen raised an eyebrow while Kayura spoke, "As far as she goes?"

"Keep her safe til I get there," Kayura said before she tilted her head and smiled somewhat slyly, "And tell her that I will be sending Zephyr and some of the others ahead of me. She'll know what it means."

Rowen looked even more confused, and Ryo was obviously lost, so Kayura merely said, "Deliver that message to her and tell her it's from me especially. Don't worry. It'll all be amusing when it's over. From everything you've told me, it can only be to your benefit anyways."

"Benefit?" Ryo asked, causing Kayura to smile slowly, "Yes, your benefit, Wildfire. Don't worry, it shouldn't be too much trouble really. Now, I'll talk to you all tomorrow in person, so get your rest. We have a lot to go over!"

"Wh-WAI-" Ryo began to shout out, but Kayura merely smiled coyly and waved her hand over the window, cutting off her side of the communication like the playful creature she innately was. With a shake of her head, she felt that smile transform into something softer as she took a moment to go over what she heard from the Ronins.

"So...I suppose we're all going down to the Earth world, I take it?" Dais said in his normal manner, causing Kayura to turn slowly around and dip her head towards the white haired warrior.

"Indeed. Have the others get ready."

"Why, Kayura?"

"Because, it seems like the Bearer has been located, meaning the other side hasn't succeeded yet." Kayura smiled lightly, causing a return smile from Dais in turn.

"That's good then. But are you sure it's wise to send Zephyr to her?"

"Mm, does it matter? It'll be amusing."

Dais stared at Kayura incredulously before the woman clapped her hands together as though pleased with her plan. Noticing the man's silence, Kayura merely lifted her hand to her lips and said lightly, "After all the trouble we've had to go through, I see no reason to not torment her a bit. She could have been more open with them to begin with you know. I did tell her she could. Besides, it might goad all of their spirits into a readiness for battle, no?"

Dais merely raised a hand to his face before he sighed and turned to go fetch the other Warlords.

This was going to be a long trip...

**XXX**

Sage took a step outside for some fresh air, sighing gently as he did so. The serene peace of the evening had always been deceptive, but he took the moment to enjoy it as he could. Any moment without a battle was one to be enjoyed, and if he had been pressed, he would have admitted that most attacks on him and the others had taken place at night.

What an irony. He was sure that Cale would laugh at that sort of realization, sick bastard that he was. The very thought had Sage wrinkling his nose in disfavor at the warlord who wasn't present at that moment. Perhaps that was just the way it was. Dark and light never really got along, after all.

As the youth took his steps towards the banister of the balcony on the house, he stopped, his eyes widening a bit at the sight of a young female leaning over the railing. Her head was down over her arms and a moment's more assessment revealed long brown hair and clothing that had to have been borrowed from Mia's pajama collection. In short, Lenaira was out for a breath of fresh air herself.

Sage quickly glanced about, tugging on the neckline of his under gear. It wasn't necessarily that she was the sort that habitually clung to him, but any woman outside of his sisters, mother and Mia had him sweating and ready to step quietly away. More so, he felt a flash of irritation. This was going to be a moment of his solitude. Unfortunately, for both his solitude and mannerisms around women, he didn't step away quickly enough because Lenaira's head shifted and her eyes caught his.

Illuminated by the moonlight, the woman's head was down against her arm and as she turned to glance at him while hunching over, all there was to see was her pair of brown eyes looking quietly at him from over the soft flesh of her arm. At a glance, someone might even confuse her for having fallen asleep against the railing with the way her eyes reflected drowsiness and the sheer thought caused Sage a bit of amusement. Had any of the guys actually fallen asleep like that, none of them would have heard the end of it!

He was stirred from his thoughts by her soft voice and felt himself immediately brought back to reality.

"Hello Sage, what are you doing out here at this hour?"

Wait. Wasn't that what he should be asking her?

"Shouldn't you be in bed yourself, miss?"

"Lenaira."

"Eh?"

"You called me Miss. I'm not as high on the etiquette as the Japanese are. I never really got a chance to learn it, but you can just call me Lenaira."

Sage blinked, heaving an inward sigh. Wonderful, a woman who didn't understand the culture, stuck with them in this sort of way. Somehow he had a feeling that if he hadn't been experiencing it this way, he'd have heard about something similar from the girls at school who couldn't keep their noses out of shojo manga to save their lives. Thank the gods for not having him in school at the moment. His life was most certainly enough.

"Well, Lenaira, shouldn't you be in bed?"

He was persistent, she'd give him that. "Probably, but I highly doubt I can sleep at the moment. Something in me just needed some fresh air."

Sage understood and so instead of prying, he walked towards the banister and leaned against it similar to how she was doing. He might as well be cordial as he did so, and he allowed the space between them to fall to a companionable silence that filtered through the night.

As minutes passed and time stretched on, she finally asked, "Why are you out here?"

"Same really."

"Mm, I understand. It's nice."

"It is."

Sage frowned inwardly. His conversation skills seemed to be lacking, but Lenaira didn't seem to notice and she picked up the conversation again. "I'm not accustomed to this, this peaceful feeling that emanates through the area."

He raised his eyebrow, "Is that so?"

"Seems crazy, doesn't it?" She smiled faintly, staring up at the moon, "You gentlemen are used to fighting and being sure of those skills. I only have the ability to run. It's quite a difference, isn't it? You have causes and it would seem the one I have is one that should be destroyed."

Sage blinked at that and frowned before he sighed. Running a hand ruefully through his blond hair, he took a moment to think about what to say next before he looked up at the moon. "Reasons to fight and survive and inherent in everyone. It's just stronger for some than others. You must have more than one reason, no? All of us do."

The girl shrugged. "My family has been running too long from this sort of thing."

The young man blinked and scratched his head again. The girl was being more open and he wondered why that could be. Not much time had passed in the slightest, but then again, who was he to know and understand the mind of a woman? He didn't understand his sisters much less the flock that seemed to congregate around him. Mia really didn't count. But he decided it'd be courteous to continue showing interest and it wasn't a complete lie after all that he was, "Is that so?"

"Mm. Ever since I was young we moved from place to place, hiding from these demons. It's ridiculous, really. Well, no, that's not true," Lenaira frowned, staring at the ground. Inside of her head a voice was nagging, asking her why she was telling this man that she barely knew this and for some reason she couldn't really answer. These men were warriors, true men despite their youth. It was a sobering thought in comparison to how her life has been. "It's only been in the last two or three years, but after a time you forget much of what you are fighting for. Frustrating, really."

Sage's eyebrow quirked. Well, that was a bit more information than he had expected, but watching the girl lean her head down to look at the ground as she clutched at her chest stirred something inside of him. A bit of sympathy was bubbling up, mingling with the growing trust that inexplicably was appearing within each of them. The feeling made him a bit suspicious. He would have to talk to Cye later. "Mm. Your reason isn't always evident you know."

She turned to stare at him as his smooth, soft voice filtered into the night air like a breath of fresh air. "We find our reasons as time passes us by. Sometimes it pops up out of nowhere and we aren't certain how or why."

Lenaira looked at the man before she smiled faintly, "And what is your reason, Sage?"

Sage smiled enigmatically before he quirked a half smile at the girl, "To see another day and know the world is free."

"That sounds like a cop out answer."

"It is."

Lenaira lifted her head to stare at the man before he laughed softly. The sound was soothing, but she frowned, instantly knowing she was being teased. Scrunching up her nose, her eyes narrowed and she folded her arms, "Sage!"

The indignation in her voice caused him to laugh for a small while more before he shook his head, "Sorry."

The woman wrinkled her nose at him and turned around, placing her back to him before he coughed. Where had _that_ come from out of him anyways? He'd consider that later as well.

Meanwhile, Lenaira was left to fume. The conversation had been so serious and he turned it into a joke! He hadn't seemed like the type, but at least his doing that had brought her back to herself. Closing up the door she had begun to open within her, she was startled when he began speaking again.

"My reason to fight is because we have to."

Lenaira raised an eyebrow to look over her shoulder at him. Sage shrugged, not even looking at her as he stared at the sky, "It's a calling. None of us can disobey it and we all have a strong sense of right and wrong. If we are the only ones who can fight, then we will fight to make sure others are safe. If our sacrifice means a safe world for my sisters and family, then I believe it's worth it. That is what it means to lead people and to protect them."

The girl stared for a bit before she frowned. A calling. Someone else had said that to her some time ago. It was just surprising to hear it from someone else. However, she closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair before she flashed the man another small smile, "Thank you, Sage. You've given me plenty to think about, I believe. I'm going to head to bed."

"Mm, good night then. I don't blame you," The man nodded at her and she began to walk back to her room before he turned around, "Oh Lenaira?"

"Hmm?" She stopped.

"Earlier we were contacting a friend of ours and she said to say something to you."

Lenaira turned to give him a strange look and Sage took it as encouragement to continue what he was saying, "...She said to expect to see her soon and that she was sending something with a strange name ahead of her."

"Her...?" Now Lenaira was staring at Sage like he had grown a second head, "And someone ahead? Who is this person and what now?"

Sage coughed before he smiled again, "Kayura. And she said she was sending Zephyr to you? Though, if you'd be so kind, who is Zeph-Lenaira? Hey, are you alright?"

As Sage had spoken, Lenaira had turned white, immediately looking about her before looking up into the sky with a frown. "Oh no. No no no no no, she wasn't supposed to do that. What does she want me to look like, insane? There was a reason I left him with her! Oh gods alive. No wait..." Lenaira reached up and began to pull her hair as she began to panic, leaving Sage only to stare incredulously as she began to pace, "OK...if I maybe stay inside-No, that wouldn't work. Not if Zakei is with him and if tha-"

Sage couldn't take it anymore and stepped forward, gripping the agitated girl's shoulders with his hands. His grip was strong and it stopped her, startling her into staring up at him wide-eyed as he asked, "What has gotten _into_ you girl?"

She whined, "You'll see soon enough! I left there so that they would have a chance and now Kayura is ruining that with one of her games! If Zephyr comes here you'll think I'm completely nuts and if that's the case how can I even make anything happen next outside of being stuck in a white padded room?"

Sage frowned and shook the girl, "Calm down, woman!"

Lenaira gulped and froze, staring up at him wide-eyed as he then asked, "What is Zephyr?"

"A spirit."

Sage stared at her blankly.

"Of the wind, Sage."

His eyebrow rose again. Evidently he was getting plenty of practice with the motion.

She sighed and groaned, "He's a spirit of the Wind, in fact ,the spirit governing the armor of Strata, also known as the armor of Tengu."

"OK...so?" Sage asked, "It's not a bad thing that he'll be here, is it? We have the armors."

"Er...no..it's not that but um..." Lenaira was still frozen. Her eyes caught on the violet-gray ones just before her and she flushed brightly. She had never been this close to a man in this matter and she wasn't sure if she should be upset or embarrassed, "He'll just be as irritating as possible a-"

_Hi Lenaira! I missed you. I'm SO glad to see you are alive still. Do you know how worried we all were?_

Lenaira's hands immediately lifted to clutch Sage's as her head turned to look at the blue body hovering before her. The small being was only as big as her hand, but his wings fluttered furiously and his waving gray hair shifted as though made of the breezes themselves. A cheerful smile was caught on his ethereal face as he hovered right before the girl's nose. She stiffened before she smiled faintly, "H-hi, Zephyr..."

Sage glanced at where she was looking and frowned. What in the world? "Lenaira...?"

"Hmm?"

"What in the world are you staring at?"

Lenaira looked up at Sage and smiled sheepishly, "Zephyr's here. See? He moves very quickly..."

She lifted her finger to the space where she was staring previously and the man frowned all the more. Was the woman going crazy?

Concern filled his voice as he glanced at the space, then at her, a pitying gaze entering his eyes, "Lenaira...there's nothing there..."

**XXX**

**XX**

**X**

* * *

_Whelp, that's it for the chapter so far. Things will start picking up here soon, so keep your eyes peeled._

_Also, the whole illustration thing turns out harder than I thought! It's such a challenge and believe me, I get overly picky whenever given the chance. So, instead of an illustration of a scene in this chapter, I figured I may as well show you what Lenaira looks like before I draw a regular illustration. Let me know what you think. It was definitely interesting. Promise I will totally try harder next time._

_silverarte(DOT)deviantart(DOT)com/art/Running-in-the-Night-297325245_

_**SPECIAL THANKS:**_

Vampire Ronin: A special thanks goes to you for catching all of those mistakes I made in the last chapter. I'm rather ashamed of myself really for not catching them before and am working on it right now. Thank you so incredibly much for pointing it out. A good critique always gets me riveting to try harder and I'm in the process of looking over the mistakes you indicated. It's hard when you don't have a beta, so you have only the absolute thanks from the bottom of my heart. :)

Jazzmonkey: Goodness, you rock my world. You keep rooting for me to write more and more and it just doesn't stop. Thank you for continually reading and just continuing to give me that cheerful spirit. It matters more thank you realize.

_Now then, I hope you all have a wonderful time from now til we meet again in the next chapter. If you have any suggestions, ideas, critiques or the like, please feel free to let me know. So long as it's constructive, I will take it into heavy consideration!_

_Thank you so very much,_

_Silverarte _


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